UPSC Key-July 8, 2022: Why to read ‘Corruption’ or ‘Freedom of press’ or ‘G. Rohini Commission’ for UPSC CSE

Don’t jail journalists for what they say… India a democracy: Germany

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies IV: Ethics and Human Interface

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Days after the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of fact-checker website Alt News, on charges of promoting religious enmity in a tweet from 2018, the German Foreign ministry referred to the case and said “journalists should not be persecuted and imprisoned for what they say and write”.

• How India responded?

• What is ‘freedom of press’?

• Why is freedom of the press important?

• What are the three key features of the freedom of press?

• What is freedom of press in India?

• Why Media Is Called as The Fourth Pillar of Democracy?

• What are the responsibilities of Journalists or Media towards the Society?

• What do you understand by the term “Journalism ethics”?

• What are the Ethical dilemmas faced by Journalists anywhere in the world?

• What are the Issues Associated with Media and Journalism in India?

• What do you understand by ‘Yellow journalism’?

• How Media Is Regulated in India?

• What are the Loopholes in Media Regulation in India?

• World Press Freedom index-Know key details

• Who publishes World Press Freedom index?

• What does Reporters Without Borders or Reporters sans Frontières stand for in journalism?

• Performance of India in World Press Freedom index-know in detail

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍World Press Freedom index: India retains 142 of 180 spot, remains “one of the world’s most dangerous countries” for journalists 

Bullet train project chief sacked amid graft case

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies IV: Probity in Governance: Challenges of corruption.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Recently, the Government dismissed Satish Agnihotri, a 1982-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers, from the post of Managing Director, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), following a Lokpal court order directing the CBI to probe corruption allegations against him.

• What is Bribery and Corruption?

• What are the types of corruption?

• What are the reasons for corruption in India?

• Implication of corruption-Know in detail

• ‘Transparency International’-Have you heard this organisation’s name?

• Who publishes Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)?

• What are some Anti-corruption initiatives taken by Government of India?

• What are Lokpal and Lokayukta?

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016-Know key highlights

• Structure of Lokpal-Know key details

• Know the Jurisdiction and Powers of Lokpal

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Tolerating the corrupt

📍Lokpal gets 5,680 corruption complaints during 2021-22

📍India ranks 85 in Transparency International’s corruption index

GOVT & POLITICS

Ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is Sherpa for G-20

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has been picked as India’s new Sherpa for the G-20. India will hold the presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, and the need for a full-time Sherpa for this duration is being cited as one of the reasons for the change.

• What is G20?

• Origin of G20-Know the background

• How G20 Works?

• G20 or Group of Twenty-About, Purpose and Member Countries

• What is G20 Sherpa?

• What is the G20 summit and who takes part in it?

• Why does the G20 matter?

• Do you Know-Together, the nations of the G20 account for around 80 percent of global economic output, nearly 75 percent of global exports, and about 60 percent of the world’s population.

• As the G-20 presidency, India will set the agenda for the year, identify the themes and focus areas, conduct discussions and work out outcome documents. The G-20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in India for the first time in 2023.

• The G-20 process is basically divided into the Sherpa track and the Finance track-What agendas are included in sherpa track and finance track?

• Procedure for taking over the G20 presidency-How it is Decided?

• G20-Relevance in today’s Changing Geopolitical Dynamics?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India to hold G-20 meetings in Ladakh

📍The Group of Twenty

Centre to states: Don’t tamper with name of child protection scheme

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Mission Vatsalya?

• Do you Know-India is home to 472 million children upto the age of 18 years and comprise 39 percent of the country’s population.

• What is the objective of Mission Vatsalya?

• What all are components under Mission Vatsalya?

• Mission Vatsalya come under which Ministry?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

At the right rate

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• “All emerging markets (EMs), including India, are facing outflows of foreign portfolio investment as the US Fed tightens”-what have you understood by this statement?

• What Is an Exchange Rate?

• Floating exchange rate vs. Fixed exchange rate-compare and contrast

• What have you understood by the statement “Canonical inflation targeting wants exchange rates to float as the
correct response to capital flows”?

• Why some policy thinkers pushing India towards full capital account convertibility?

• What is capital account convertibility in India?

• What is current account convertibility and capital account convertibility?

• Can you recall any example of Capital account convertibility?

• How Capital Account Convertibility affects a country?

• There are two economic groups in every society including India i.e. the fixed income group and the variable income group. How Inflation effects these economic group?

• What is the Long term, Medium Term and Short-term impact of Inflation?

• How Inflation is Measured in India?

• New Standard for Measuring Inflation in India and Old Standard for Measuring Inflation-Key Differences

• Why the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the Repo rate recently for the second time by an expected 50 basis points?

• The RBI raised the Repo rate recently-How it will impact the demand in the economy?

• How this rate hike will impact banks and non-banking finance companies?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍On inflation, how the RBI failed, why it matters

EXPLAINED

Sub-categorising OBCs

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story– The Centre extended the tenure of the Commission to Examine Sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) headed by Justice G Rohini, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.

• Know the background-Under the provisions of Article 340 of the Constitution, the Rohini Commission was established in October 2017. It was granted 12 weeks to present its report, but since then, there have been multiple extensions (13th extension), the most recent is until January 31, 2023 to submit its report.

• What is sub-categorisation of OBCs?

• What is the Commission’s brief?

• When was it meant to submit its report?

• What progress has it made so far?

• What have its findings been so far?

• What is the extent of OBC recruitment in central jobs?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Sub-categorisation of OBCs: Govt extends term again without panel asking for it

DERECHO

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- States of Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois in the US were hit by a storm system called a derecho. As the storm hit, it turned the skies green, with even many experienced storm chasers claiming to have never witnessed such atmospheric optics.

• What is a derecho?

• Why did the sky turn green during the derecho that hit US recently?

• Are there different types of derechos?

• Where do derechos usually occur?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Storm derecho turns sky green in three US states; here’s how and why it happened

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